Al Aqsa Part II

Welcome back lovelies,

I have kept you hanging long enough for part II of my Al Aqsa trip, but life was really busy and the blog took a back seat while I re-centered my groove for 2019. I have been working on this instalment for a while, and just writing about it is a wonderful trip down memory lane indeed! It brings back all the exceptional moments, the unforgettable places we visited, and accessing the vast treasuries of history.
I had arrived in the Land of the Ambiyah, Algamdulilah! ♥️

After sharing a double bed with our youngest (due to our accommodation bungle), we were up early for morning prayers at Masjidul Aqsa (PS: There was some confusion about whether there was Tahajjud salaah or not; I can confirm that they do open the mosque for Tahajjud). I was so excited, and the downpour and freezing temperatures could do nothing to dim my mood. I was in a city I had literally been yearning to visit for the longest time (and my intention had always been to perform my Hajj first- so it was a long wait), and I was ready for whatever lay ahead. So we bundled up against the cold in fur lined jackets, thick socks and set off into the rain. Our hotel was a few minutes outside Herod's Gate, and since we arrived in the dark, we kind of found our way to the Old City. Luckily we could see the walls of the Old City so we at least knew in which direction to walk, and from there we followed the signage to the mosque.

Even though it was raining, I was immersed in my surroundings from the moment I entered the gates of the Old City.  As we walked along the cobble stoned streets, surrounded by centuries old buildings which housed the locals, as the Muazzin's call reverberated through the city. I felt as if I had stepped back in time, and was present alongside all our Ambiyah who had walked these very streets enroute to the very same masjied. Subghaanallah! I cannot even begin to describe the emotions that coursed through me at that point. To say that I felt privileged would be a huge understatement, I felt honoured and awe struck to be in a place which had formed a fundamental part of my Islamic history lessons, the very scene of those stories of the prophets I grew up reading about and listening to. After many turns, we eventually arrived at a military checkpoint, where we were stopped, and Ghaalid was asked to recite Surah Al-Fatiha, to confirm he's Muslim. This was at the gate entering the Al Aqsa compound, I must admit I was very nervous as this was our first encounter with the military police in the Old City. They looked at me and wanted to know if I was Muslim, several times, and hubby confirmed that I'm his wife and Muslim. That was the extent of our 'interrogation' and we proceeded to enter the sacred grounds of Al Aqsa. 

At this point my heart was pounding in a mixture of nerves and anticipation, and we followed the lone bodies walking towards the sound of the Athaan. As we ascended the steps, the gold dome of Qubbat al-Sakhrah (Dome of the Rock) reared up in all it's majesty. I was videoing this walk on my phone, just so I could capture the moment I first laid eyes on this revered mosque. It was drizzling, frosty cold and I couldn't take my eyes off this beautiful sight, when we then noticed was bolted shut. So we continued past, descended another set of stairs, where we first saw Masjid Al Aqsa. I entered through the women' entrance, a door which is right next to the mens entrance. At the back of the masjied is small section cordoned off with screens for the women's salaah section. I found it intriguing to see female elders of the mosque all seated at the back, directing the formation of safs (prayer lines in a mosque) and reciting Quran. For me, it represented the closeness of this community, where they congregate at the mosque for prayer times, catch up on chats, have some snacks and worship together. It was the most spectacular experience just to be in the mosque, and whilst the interior is beautiful, and it is not as gilded as Makkah or Madinah harams, but it radiates a warmth and tangible spiritual energy which is soul-stirring.

By the time we returned back to the hotel room, we were soaked through! My socks and sneakers were wet, and I couldn't feel my feet, so our priority was to get dry and warm. Our hotel was a smaller locally owned hotel, which was really close to the Old City, just outside the walls. After a traditional breakfast, (their buffet is geared towards local foods, so the meze platter essentials are always on offer, scrambled eggs, cereal and limited fruit) we met our tour guide in the foyer for a full day of sight seeing. With all the sights we visited on our first day, I will need to share it in more than one post. 

Some important comments and tips:

1. Since we were without a representative from our travel agency, we had to try and resolve the accommodation mix up on our own. We had tried booking another room, but the hotel was full- it was not only umrah season but also Christmas. December is peak time especially since all three Abrahamic faiths have their origins in Jerusalem, therefore a few days before Christmas was the wrong time to have issues with accommodation. 
2. We were a bit lost on how the day had been planned as we had been joined with a group from another agent, so we had to locate their representative and find out what our programme for the day was. Again without a representative the communication on these kinds of things is poor.
3. Furthermore, we appealed to the caretaker agent to try and assist with sorting out accommodation for my son, while our own agent tried to fix it from SA.
4. I cannot stress the importance of having a representative from your agent along, someone who knows what your bookings requirements were. We were also quite comfortable to make our way to the mosque without assistance on the first morning. This may not be the case for everyone, and for those who do not travel often, or are travelling for the first time (and in occupied territory as well) it can be extremely intimidating to navigate their own way around. These travellers may appreciate assistance with getting to the mosque for the first time, or having someone with them when confronted with military police.
5. All in all, the challenges we faced were only related to not having our own travel agent present, however, I chose to deal with our accommodation issues after we had completed our tour that day. It would have been pointless to let that ruin a long-awaited and costly trip. So I took in the entire experience with every single fibre of my being, leaving any issues I was experiencing to be dealt with later.

Before I had visited Palestine, I did not fully comprehend how much this visit would impact me. This city, particularly this sacred mosque has found a space in my heart, where it will forever be lodged. I am forever transformed by this captivating city. 

Abu Dharr (RA) reported that he asked the Prophet (SAW), “O Messenger of Allah, which Masjid was built first on earth”? The Prophet (SAW) replied, “The Sacred Masjid of Makkah”. Abu Dharr (RA) again asked, “Which was next”? The Prophet (SAW) said, “Masjid Al-Aqsa”. Abu Dharr (RA) further asked, “How long was the period between the building of the two Masjids”? The Prophet (SAW) said, “Forty years”. Apart from these, offer your prayer anywhere when it is time to pray, although excellence is in praying in these Masjids”.
[Bukhari]

The rest of the day was spent visiting phenomenal historical sites, which will be featured in the next instalment.

Video of our first few moments in the Old City

The cobble stoned streets, my first sight of the Old City

Walking through military checkpoint, following the few lone souls towards  Al Aqsa

The first proper sight of the Dome of the Rock, still bolted shut for Fajr

Breakfast essentials at the Holy Land Hotel

The first sight of Al Aqsa Mosque

Ciao for now, 

RuBe xoxo

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Al Aqsa Part I

Hello lovelies!

I wanted to start off my latest travel piece with my experience in Jerusalem, it's been a longstanding dream of mine to see Palestine and visit the places I had heard about in the stories of our prophets. So because this leg of my journey was completely new, with some more life changing experiences , Al Aqsa, Part One is the first instalment. 

Last year was a huge year for me as I stated in my last post, and we had been discussing the possibility of an Umrah trip all year. However, until November, it didn't look likely and then after a whirlwind of planning, it became a reality. Just like with my Hajj, it was a trip with last minute arrangements, my dates were changing constantly because I was restricted by the late start of school holidays. And then I also needed to be back early enough for the release of my second born's matric results. Life was hectic at the time, work was keeping me busy with some last minute travelling, but Algamdulilah, everything worked out as it should have.

Since there were no tour groups departing as early in December as we chose, (I took Ihsaan out of school early 🤦🏻‍♀️) we decided to do Makkah and Madinah on our own and source our own hotels, ziyarahs and transfers. Since we had not travelled to Palestine before (and of course one hears many many stories about the border protocol), we preferred to join a travel group from South Africa. After deciding on an agent, which was the same one we travelled on hajj with, I actually received so many helpful tips from my readers. In hindsight I realised I could just have used that information to do the Aqsa leg on our own. This particular leg of my journey presented many challenges and lessons, and I remain grateful for every single experience. 

We arrived in Dubai airport early to connect with the agent's group (which we planned to coincide with their flight), after completing our Saudi leg. With intense anticipation, we boarded the plane for the three and a half hour flight. After an uneventful flight we touched down in Amman, Jordan just after 9am. As we approached the airport and taxied down the runway, all I could see was dry, mountainous, sandy terrain - a proper desert country much like the ones you'd see in movies. I was so excited to have arrived in a place which resulted in an Islamic historical tour like no other. We went through immigration and filled with some apprehension, onto a bus headed for the border.

Before setting off for our Aqsa leg, we were cautioned by the agent to travel with minimal luggage into Aqsa, this is mainly for ease of  movement with your luggage through the ancient cramped streets of the Old City. So you can choose a carry on, or a medium sized suitcase, whichever you prefer, or even a normal sized suitcase- as long as it is one suitcase and easy for you to carry/pull along, just be sure to pack enough for the time you'll be in Aqsa. If you're travelling alone and not part of a group, larger luggage pieces will delay you, but with the group you'll be delayed anyway, so it's really your choice. Enroute to the border, after driving for about an hour, we stopped off at a souvenir stop, where you can store any excess luggage which you won't need in Aqsa (this storage comes at a cost of approx US$5 per person). The drive to the Jordanian border took another 2-3hrs, where we then sat in the bus and waited an hour whilst officials checked our passports. Thereafter we proceeded to the Allenby Crossing/King Hussein Bridge heading to the Palestinian terminal. There are several checkpoints that the bus has to go through before arriving at the terminal. Once you arrive, your luggage will be unpacked from the bus. You collect your suitcase and enter the terminal building for the passport, luggage and body check. Ghaalid and my son, Ihsaan, went through pretty smoothly and I just had two extra checks and a scan before I was directed though immigration.  A barcoded ticket is issued and stamped (so there's no stamp in your passport) which you keep with you for your stay in Palestine. I breathed a huge sigh of relief as I exited the terminal on the other side... What I didn't realise is that members of our group had been held back for questioning, which meant that we had to wait outside the terminal building until they were released. (So it's a good idea to have a snack bag/ food packed for this wait).This took 3 hours, unfortunately when travelling with groups this process is unavoidable and can sometimes take longer. So the entire process of crossing from the Jordanian terminal to getting on the bus headed for our Aqsa hotel took us around 5-6 hours.

It was already dark by the time we boarded the bus to our hotel, around 5:30pm (sunset is around 4:30pm) and we were exhausted and hungry from 18 hours of travelling. After departing from our Madinah hotel at 9pm the night before we arrived at our Aqsa hotel at 7pm. The extreme cold as we disembarked from the bus hit us unexpectedly and we hurried into the warm, toasty, Christmassy lobby of the Holy Land Hotel. Eager to get into a shower, grab proper food (the last meal we had was on the flight for breakfast at 8am) we waited in the lobby for our room key. This was where our challenges started. We were allocated the incorrect room, a double room instead of a triple room, and our 14 year old son had been placed in another room to share with a young man. Upon enquiring with the front desk, it was clear that this was what our agent had booked - without prior discussion with us. This left us in a predicament; tired, starving and short on patience we waited for a further two hours while someone tried to sort it out. By 10pm, there was still no progress, and the stoic faced hotel desk clerk was unable to assist, we begrudgingly decided to take the one double room with the double bed for the one night, and sleep 3 on a bed. There was no way we were going to put Ihsaan in a room with a stranger, nevermind to share a double bed! We also had an early morning to prepare for and could not imagine waiting any longer and losing out on much needed sleep, so we complied, took our luggage, and settled in for the night. The room situation would be addressed in the morning.

Continued in Al Aqsa Part II, coming soon...

As I mentioned, this was the start of our logistical challenges, and whilst I was hesitant to even share them - I have recently been told by several families that they have chosen a travel agent based on my recommendation. I therefore feel duty bound to share my full experience, the highs and lows, with the intention of being transparent.

If you're considering travelling to Palestine as part of a group tour, please take heed of the following:

1. Ensure that you have your detailed itinerary at least two weeks before your trip, so you are clear on every little detail. Most agents would mention a hotel with a disclaimer, or similar, which is perfectly fine- just ensure that your room allocation is correct. Once you're in Palestine, it is near impossible to get another room, over Christmas time. I also didn't have any clue which hotels I would be staying at in Amman and Petra- which I only realised when my documents were delivered the night before my departure (without said itinerary). 
2. Sit down with your agent and ensure that you will have a representative to assist you with logistical matters whilst abroad. Most of the logistics are managed by a local tour operator, and the agents usually deal directly with them. If the agent's representative is not present, you have no recourse (like with us where we had the incorrect room booked, or my son placed in a room with a stranger), you're merely a third party engaging with the hotel and unlikely to be able to make changes. 
3. Discuss the various legs of your trip with your agent, find out how long waiting times are, what the travel times and distances are like so you have a good idea how much time you'll actually have to explore the city. At the end we had 1 day free to explore at our leisure, which was less than I had expected.
4. If you're accustomed to travelling, your experience will mean that you'll easily be able to correct any booking errors, but this will be at your own cost. This was one option we explored in trying to resolve our sleeping arrangements.
5. Without a representative, you may not be privy to the full experience and could miss out on pertinent bits of the trip - I'll clarify this in my next post.
6. Find out the group size that the agent will be taking, if it is too small, your agent will most likely enlist the services of a fellow tour operator to caretake your group in their absence. This did not sit well with me, as I felt at a serious disadvantage having to now deal with an agent (actually his representative who accompanied his Aqsa group), who first needed to attend to his own group, didn't know my booking requirements, and was now accountable to me to correct an obvious booking decision taken by my agent without my knowledge. I was told afterward that my request for a triple room was never secured, and therefore the second double room was booked, to be shared.

For first time travellers, or elderly travellers, I feel that it is essential to ensure that the above is in place. Without your agent being present, you will have no knowledge of bus departure times, any changes to your touring schedule or assistance with hotel issues. We experienced numerous challenges as a result of having no agent representation, so I cannot stress the importance of the above points enough if you're keen on travelling with a group. 

Alternatively, if you feel comfortable enough to travel on your own with your family (without booking through a travel agent), this is an option you may want to explore. You would then have full control of your own accommodation, tours and travel times.

I take part accountability for my challenges on the trip, not having insisted on a full itinerary at least one week before my departure. However, I am accustomed to a particular level of etiquette from travel agents, and this time I was sorely 

disappointed. 

The landscape as we approached Jordan, dry and barren

The Jordanian airlines planes have a crown logo on the tail

As we were taxiing down the runway

Exiting the terminal to board the bus

The souvenir stop where we stored our luggage

Ciao for now,

RuBe xoxo

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Welcome Home Mum!

My mom recently embarked on a visit to Mecca and returned on Sunday. In the spirit of this holy month, I thought I'd include a few lines on this  special journey which I hope to take. I'll be patient until  my time comes, Inshallah (God willing).

One performs many of the rituals as is required for Hajj (pilgrimage), and spend your days in prayer in two major mosques in Madinah and Mecca. The time is generally used for introspection, asking forgiveness for sins and repeating many of the actions performed by our last prophet , Muhammad (PBUH). Of course, there's also loads of shopping to be done, usually more abayas (black cloaks), prayer mats, jewellery etc etc.

So the sweet thing with my moms journey this time is that my son, Ihsaan (9), wanted to know each day where she was and what she would see and do.  We would then try to follow her travels from SA, he was really interested in what happens in the Holy Land with such fresh curiosity.

At the airport, after getting dressed and out of the house by 6:30am

Mom looking very sad before she left

My outift for the occasion:

Scarf: Gift (accessorised with SassDiva headband)

Snood: Cotton On

Quilted Leather Jacket: Asos (Urban)

Leopard Print hi- lo tunic: Mr Price

Skinny Jeans: RE @ Woolworths

Boots & Belt: Country Road (old)

Earring: SassDiva

Ciao for now,

RuBe xoxo

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